Chinese cities are in a hunt for "toxic" running tracks following reports linking sub-standard school facilities to the ill health of students.
Educational authorities in Changsha, capital of Hunan Province, and Haikou, provincial capital of Hainan, have ordered inspections on rubber racetracks in schools and kindergartens and to remove those found to be substandard.
Construction of new running tracks must be halted pending reassessment, according to the Education Bureau of Haikou, which has also promised severe punishment for acts of corruption and negligence.
North China's Hebei Province have suspended nine firms producing rubber material and is placing others under scrutiny in a response to reports about factories there using industrial waste to make racetrack material.
China's Ministry of Education on Wednesday ordered local authorities to check all newly-built synthetic racetracks in schools during the summer break and immediately remove substandard ones.
The call came after pupils at a Beijing primary school reported nosebleeds, dizzy spells and coughs after alleged exposure to the newly renovated tracks, while similar cases in Jiangsu, Guangdong and other provinces also fueled public concerns.
China's national TV, the CCTV, earlier reported that some of the racetracks were made of industrial wastes such as scrap tires and cables, and were built with substandard glue.
